The US government has joined a UN effort to encourage the use of renewable energy at all times of the day.
The US on 5 December became a member of the UN's 24/7 Carbon-Free Energy Compact, whose 140 participants aim to match every kilowatt of their electricity consumption with zero emissions generation.
The Biden administration in 2021 set a goal for the federal government to use zero emissions resources for all of its electricity by 2030, 50pc of which must come from locally supplied renewables on a 24/7 basis.
"The US government's commitment to 24/7 carbon-pollution free electricity for federal operations is creating good-paying jobs for American workers and healthier air for communities," the federal chief sustainability officer with the White House Council on Environmental Quality Andrew Mayock said at the UN Cop 28 climate talks in Dubai.
Ensuring the use of carbon-free energy at all times of day is more complicated than simply buying clean energy.
Creating 24/7 renewable energy purchases will require changes to the renewable energy certificate (REC) market. Large-scale electricity users largely purchase RECs to match their annual consumption, while still relying physically on local generation that could include coal- or gas-fired power plants at times when solar and wind power are less available. These RECs are usually issued on a monthly basis and have to be matched to load over a year or longer period.
Among the changes, generation tracking registries will need to offer more granular RECs can allow for tracking at smaller time intervals. Incentives from the federal government could speed this up.
